Iter ATV Mustang

Today, you will transition to the beautiful lakeside paradise of Pokhara. Depending on your preference, you can either engage in an exciting overland trip by jeep or take a quick mountain flight.

If you choose to travel on the road, then our jeep will take you out of Kathmandu through Thankot. The famous Prithvi Highway will then drive you parallel to the amazing Trishuli River.

You will pass by the vibrant market towns of Galchhi, Malekhu, and Kuringtar, home to the famous Manakamana Cable car. You will then reach the very busy Muglin town, from where the Narayanghat Muglin Highway will be your trustworthy companion.

Turning west by the roaring Marshyangdi River, you will travel past the historic trade town of Dumre before reaching the tropical heaven of Pokhara.

If you have engaged in flight, then, gazing at Langtang, Ganesh, Manaslu, Annapurna, and Fishtail, you will land at the modern international airport of Pokhara within half an hour.

You will have the entire afternoon to stroll beside Lake Phewa, or boat on its crystal clear water, or simply enjoy the vibe and calm of this city.

prandium

Hotel

X m / XXXIII ft

flight, 5 to 6 hours drive and 30 minutes flight

From today, our true ATV tour in Nepal begins. We will leave the green terrain of Pokhara and step into the desert terrain of Upper Mustang. Our morning starts with an adventurous jeep ride to Jomsom.

From Pokhara, the Prithvi Highway will lead us southwest to connect with the Baglung Highway. We will then encounter Kushma town, which hosts one of the longest suspension bridges and the world’s highest commercial bungee-jumping cliff.

The paved highway will travel us through Beni, situated beside the massively deep Kali Gandaki gorge, the world’s deepest. The dirt track will begin now, which will ascend us through Tatopani and Rupse Chhahara (Rupse Waterfall) at Dana.

The bumpy dirt road will turn left and journey through the delightful Thakali towns of Ghasa, Tukuche, Lete, Kobang, Kalopani, and Marpha before we arrive at Jomsom.

The moment has come to switch to our ATV; powering its engine, we will ride east along the dry, bumpy track and pass through Ekle Bhatti. We will soon be at Kagbeni, where the police checkpoint will examine our permits.

We will now ride past the gate of Kagbeni and enter the restricted region of Upper Mustang. Admiring the horizon, the massive edges of Annapurna I, Tukuche, Dhaulagiri, and Nilgiri, we will power up our ATV and ride steeply along the dusty track.

We will climb past the Tangbe (3020 m) and Chhuksang villages (2980 m). The terrain has now taken the dark brown hue as we proceed towards Chele (3055 m).

The uphill dusty dry off-road track will now climb us steeply through Lhatse (3100 m) and over the two giant dry passes of Taklam La (3624 m) and Dajori La (3650 m).

Stop the roar of your ATV and watch the flute-like features of Tilicho and  Yakawakang peaks for a while. It’s time to ride down to Samar village (3600 m).

We will take an off-road detour towards Chungsi Cave, which is also known as Ranchung Cave, perched at 3500 m elevation. Our ATV will ride us down through a dramatic canyon for a while until we reach the adequate site where we can park our ATV.

We will then take a short scenic hike to the Chungsi Cave, which is regarded as deeply sacred by the locals because of its legendary story related to Guru Rinpoche.

He said to meditate in this cave around the 8th century during his journey into the Himalayas. Inside the cave, we can look at several clay statues and amazing rock formations.

We will now trek back to our machine and power back up its engine. We will ride out of the canyon and conquer the high Syangboche La pass (3800 m).

Watching the unreal peaks of Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri, we will drop down to Ghiling village (3570 m). numerous traditional Upper Mustang villages such as Tama Gaon, Chhunggar, and Jhaite (3811 m) will give us some comfort of rest before we advance over the Nyi La Pass (4010 m).

The up and down dusty off-road track will again ride us steeply over 3765 m Ghami La Pass before we descend to Ghami Village. We will now ride past the longest Mani Wall of the Mustang region and engage in a jaw-dropping descent to Dhakmar Village, where we will park our ATVs and rest for the night.

Prandium, Prandium & Prandium

Teahouse

X m / XXXIII ft

45 km off-road, 7 to 8 hours

Today, our Mustang ATV tour will lead us to the ultimate destination of our entire adventure: the walled old kingdom of Lo Manthang. The day will be a true test of our ATVs as we ride deep into the high alpine terrain of Mustang and remote mountain passes.

We will leave Dhakmar village and shift our ATVs to low gear. Then, we will climb along the rocky terrain, cross slowly and carefully the high Mui La Pass (4170 m).

We will park our machine at the summit for a moment and admire the beauties known as Annapurna and Dhaulagiri rising high above the orange-tanned terrain of Mustang.

Turning the engine back on, we will now drop down slowly into the peaceful valley of Ghar Gumba (3835 m), also called Lo Ghekar Monastery, which has stood in this terrain since the 8th century.

Built by Sage Rinpoche, the monastery houses dozens of well-preserved clay statues, stone plaques of Buddhist deities, and scriptures of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava).

After the short monastery visit, we will fire up our engines once more and descend through high-altitude dry terrain towards Tsarang village (3505 m).

The pointy sharp edges of Tilicho, Nilgiri, Bhrikuti, and Annapurna I will delight our ride as we climb alongside the yellowish Charang Chu canyon. We will come across a large chorten before we are set to climb over the huge Marang La Pass (4230 m).

After tackling this ridge, we will descend to the wide and open valley floor, from where we will head to Lo Manthang. This small hidden kingdom was founded in 1380 and is still encircled by around 6 m tall white walls.

After riding into the entrance gate of the kingdom, we will park our machines and set to rest in this amazing medieval land.

Prandium, Prandium & Prandium

Teahouse

X m / XXXIII ft

35 km off-road, 5 to 6 hours

We have a strategic rest day planned in Lo Manthang today, but we will use this day to explore the hidden heritage of this beautiful dry kingdom. We will use our ATVs for our sightseeing tour and will explore the ancient sky caves and surroundings.

After a warm royal breakfast, we will press our ignition and ride our ATVS to explore the ancient heritage Tibetan monasteries of Thugchen, Lhakhan Champa temple, and the Chyodi monastery.

Then, we will ride north for around an hour toward the most famous Chhoser Valley. Our goal is the Shija Jhong Cave situated high on the cliff. It has been one of the most researched archaeological sites in Asia and has 5 floors and 40 rooms.

Climbing along the wooden ladders, we can look at each chamber of the cave and admire the ancient wall paintings and pottery. Then, we can also visit the Nyiphuk and Garphu rock Monasteries located near the cave.

It’s now time to ride back to our accommodation in Lo Manthang and call it a day.

Prandium, Prandium & Prandium

Teahouse

X m / XXXIII ft

Early morning, after a warm royal breakfast, we will now fire up our ATVs and head north. It’s a great time to see once again the ancient archaeological wonders of the sky cave of Chhoser Valley on our way to the Chung Jung village.

The trail will become narrower and ascend along the plateau. We will pass through Nhichung (3951 m) village, where we will come across the Nepali Border Customs and Port Facilities.

Once across this village, our track will now flatten out, and a little further we can see a lonely ancient Buddhist stupa. From here, the dramatic dry terrain heads up to the Kora La pass (4660 m) lying near the Tibetan border with Nepal.

We will take our ATVs to the edge of the dry plateau and watch the incredible isolated terrain of Tibet. We will now descend the pass and turn back from the border. Next, we will divert from the main track and head southeast toward the eastern bank of the Mustang Khola.

The terrain now becomes more and more rugged, and there will be numerous mountain ridges to overcome. Thus, we will have to rely on the suspension of our machine. We will park our ATV on a high mountain ridge and then hike to the Kunchokling cave.

Inside the cave, we can see stunning 14th-century Buddhist murals, ceiling mandalas, and meditation chambers. After the cave exploration, we will fire up our machine once again and descend along a steep technical dirt track.

It will then ascend along the high mountain pass known as Samdzong La (also referred to as Gongmoche La, 4050 m). We will now ride down the pass and reach the canyon floor.

Now, there will be a massive mud cliff ahead of the trail, which again contains several 1500-year-old ancient sky caves. From here, we will ride down our ATVs and reach the valley floor.

The ride on our machine is somewhat easier now as we proceed further and come across the lonely structures of Old Samdzong. Soon enough, we will be resting our ATVs at the green valley of Samdzong.

After a momentary break, we will mount our machine and hit the wide track beside the Samdzong Khola. After a while, our trail will sharply head up where we will have to shift to low gear to cross the Ghara La Pass (4380 m).

From the pass, our long descent begins toward the Puyung Khola valley, from where our track will lead us to the Ghara Village. From here, we will descend to Yara Gaon, where we will park our ATV and rest for the night.

Prandium, Prandium & Prandium

Teahouse

X m / XXXIII ft

7 ad horas 8

We will leave Yara early in the morning and power up our ATV along steep plateau terrain. We will pass through Dhey Village and will have to cross another 3900 m tall pass before descending to Tange Village (3240 m).

From here, our route will once again climb aggressively over the 4218 m Paha Pass. The descent from the pass will be thrilling, which guides us down toward the Kali Gandaki River.

On the way, we will ride past the Siyarko Tangk Danda and Chhomnang villages before we ride into the Chhusang village. We will now ride south beside the wide bank of Kali Gandaki and eventually reach Kagbeni.

We will step out from the terrain of Upper Mustang here and take our ATV back onto the road to Jomsom.

Prandium, Prandium & Prandium

Teahouse

65 km

X m / XXXIII ft

6 ad horas 7

Our ATV ride is now over, and we will switch to travel in our private jeep from now on, bringing an end to our Mustang ATV tour. Leaving Jomsom, we will drive past the apple town of Marpha and the ancient salt trade hub of Tukuche.

Look out for the view of the old towns of Lete and Kalopani as well, and watch the delights of Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri one last time. Passing through Ghasa, we will drive past the narrow gorge of Kali Gandaki once again.

One more time, we will see the cascading waters of Rupse Waterfall before we stop at Tatopani for lunch. From there, the dirt track will lead us to Beni Bazaar, where the bumpy road ends and shifts onto the paved highway.

Traveling through Kushma, we will climb the ridge of Naudanda and arrive at Pokhara for the evening rest.

Prandium, Prandium & Prandium

Hotel

155 km

X m / XXXIII ft

6 ad horas 7

Our Mustang ATV tour comes full circle today as we journey towards Kathmandu. Just like at the beginning, you will again have two choices of travel: flight or drive.

If you prefer to fly over the high Himalayas, then we will take you to Pokhara International Airport early in the morning. The rest of the afternoon will be yours to see the beautiful, diverse colors of Kathmandu.

If you choose to drive along the Prithvi Highway, the familiar sights of Mugling, Malekhu, and Trishuli will lead you to the capital. In the evening, our team will host an authentic farewell dinner to celebrate our success.

prandium

Hotel

X m / XXXIII ft

30-minute flight, 6 to 7 hours drive

Your grand ATV tour in Nepal comes to a close today. Three hours before your departure time, our representative and a private vehicle will meet you at your hotel to drive you to TIA.